When the Cat is Away
by Betterbuddy
Summary: A Tony/Gibbs/Vance storyline focusing on angsty events in late S8/all  season 9. Vance admits to Gibbs, that when he returns from L.A. visits, he  often spies on Team-Gibbs via security footage. Gibbs is worried about his  team members, especially Tony.
1. Chapter 1

*This is actually a sequel to _**Survivor's Guilt: Missing Scenes for S9**_; however, it can be read as a standalone story also. It is set after 9X18 The Tell but before 9X19 The Good Son. Heavy spoilers for mid-season 9 episodes, including 9X15 Secrets and 9X17 Need to Know. Other spoilers include 9x1 Nature of the Beast, 9X6 Thirst, 9X13 Desperate Man, and 8X22 Baltimore.

When the Cat is Away. . .

**Squad Room**

"Hey DiNozzo, check your email on your own time!" Gibbs yelled out in an unusually cranky and irritable tone, as he entered the squad room. DiNozzo did not stop what he was doing, although Gibbs had repeatedly warned him on previous occasions to stop being so distracted while the team was in the middle of an investigation. DiNozzo was often looking up information about Major Raimey's case when he had the opportunity.

"Someone talk to me." Gibbs continued to yell out at his team.

Ziva scrambled to run over to the Plasma by Gibbs, ready to report. "Our ex-Marine, Lance Read was a very well liked. Everyone I talked to at the bar that he owns in Baltimore had very nice things to say about him. He was just helping out his friend, David Betts, from being physically assaulted in the alley, when he fired the weapon into the air to break up the fight."

McGee jumped up next to Ziva and Gibbs. "The men that were attacking him are all students of the University of Maryland. They were all on their spring break celebrating at Read's bar, when Betts challenged one of them to a game of pool. Betts was losing. Instead of paying or forfeiting the money, he walked off with the guy's wallet. Betts was cornered in the alley by the men and was attacked." They stopped for a moment, and they noticed that DiNozzo still did not seem to be listening, which made Gibbs increasingly irritated.

"Read tried to stop the attack. He claims to have fired his gun into the air, and Read was the only one with a gun in the alley. Now the man that was killed from a gunshot wound to the head is named Steve Wallace. Steve Wallace tried to join the Marines two years ago because of his history of being in and out of drug rehab never became a Marine. Because of his problems with drugs, he has also been thrown out of the University of Maryland now too."

"There is a problem with this case though. Ducky said the bullet he pulled out of Wallace did not match the gun registered to Read." Gibbs added.

"We need a possible second suspect then, but what we really need is the real murder weapon. Where _is_ Read's gun? He said that he dropped it in the alley. And where is the bullet that he supposedly fired into the air?" Gibbs asked, turning to face DiNozzo who was not participating in their discussion.

"Hey!" Gibbs yelled, walking over and pulling the power cord out of DiNozzo's computer monitor. "Stop checking your email. Where is that bullet, DiNozzo!" Gibbs continued to yell at DiNozzo in a very degrading tone.

"I. . ." DiNozzo stood up and stared back intensely at Gibbs ready to shoot right back at him.

"I want the gun that Read discarded in the alley and I want that bullet he claims he shot straight up into the air." Gibbs ordered, looking at DiNozzo and pointing in the direction of the elevator. "Go and don't come back until you find them." DiNozzo grabbed his backpack and headed for the elevator, without saying a word or looking at Gibbs.

"Boss." McGee said, as he looked back and forth from Gibbs to Tony. "Boss!"

"Gibbs." Ziva said almost as quickly. When neither of them got a response from Gibbs because he continued to stare at DiNozzo as he got into the elevator, they yelled out his name again in unison.

"Gibbs." Ziva and McGee said together standing.

"What!" Gibbs shot back looking at them both.

"While you were in MTAC with Vance, Tony came back here with the gun and a bullet. He gave them both to Abby." McGee explained.

"What!" Gibbs shouted shaking his head. "Why did DiNozzo just. . .? Where the h*ll is he going then?" He was about to start ridiculing DiNozzo again but stopped his question mid-sentence.

"He is just following your orders, Gibbs. You threw him up." Ziva said somewhat snobbishly as she returned to her desk. "He most likely just wanted to get away from you."

"That is _threw him out_, Ziva." McGee corrected. "And, Ziva's right, Boss. That was pretty. . . harsh." McGee added wincing as he yelled at Gibbs. Without explanations, McGee walked over to DiNozzo's desk to reconnect his monitor.

"Let's see if he was checking his emails or tracking the Raimey trial. And we have. . .ah . . .oh, actually he was researching Steve Wallace's drug history and already looking for a second suspect. Tony sent some emails to the treatment centers and was looking at his criminal records drugs. He did look up some information on Raimey's case though at . . .oh my 3:30 am. He was here at 3:30 am?" McGee said with a sigh, realizing that he and Ziva were right to take DiNozzo's side on this. McGee sat down at DiNozzo's desk and continued to look through the information that DiNozzo had already accessed. Gibbs continued to stand there a moment to process the information before grimacing and sharply turning toward the elevator.

"Gibbs?" Ziva watched him bolt for the elevator.

"I'll be right back. . .with DiNozzo." Gibbs said already inside the elevator.

**Crime Scene – Alley/back of Read's Bar**

When he arrived at the crime scene, he found DiNozzo using a flashlight to look closely at the brick on the wall. He was shining the flashlight up and down the wall. Gibbs stood behind him, noticing how he quickly he tensed up when DiNozzo realized that someone was standing behind him.

"It's me, Tony." Gibbs said softly.

"Oh, ah. . .hey Boss." DiNozzo said still searching and not turning around.

"You already found that bullet. You already found the gun." Gibbs said. "What are you doing, Tony?"

"Following orders." DiNozzo answered as straight as possible, eliminating all traces of sarcasm in the statement.

"Hey." Gibbs said again, when DiNozzo still continued to look at the wall and not look back at Gibbs.

"Tony, stop that and look at me." Gibbs said, trying not to shout at DiNozzo. DiNozzo obediently turned around to look at Gibbs, but would have preferred looking for a bullet that did not exist.

"Hey." Gibbs repeated, looking strongly at Tony. "I am sorry."

Gibbs watched as DiNozzo's eyes bulged and his breathing stopped from the statement. Gibbs tilted his head, silently signaling to DiNozzo that he wanted him to just accept his apology.

"Sorry!" DiNozzo said in shock of the word. "_You_ said you are sorry. You are sending me some serious mixed messages here. You are breaking a rule—a Gibbs' rule, and you don't ever break rules. What happened to your Rule #6_, never say that you are sorry_?" DiNozzo rambled on about how Gibbs' was showing weakness to him. Gibbs got closer to DiNozzo looking him over, noticing the bags under his eyes with the clearly defined dark rings. DiNozzo was very serious as he said this.

"Rule 51, then." Gibbs stated as he continued to take in DiNozzo's now distressed demeanor.

"51. . .there is a 51. . . what is 51. . .I don't know of a 51." DiNozzo rambled quickly cursing at himself for not remember it, expecting a lecture or head slap.

"It is new. I never taught you Rule 51." Gibbs said gently. "_Sometimes—you're wrong._"

"Me?" DiNozzo asked questionably. "Only sometimes, Boss? You mean you give me head slaps when I right too?"

"Me." Gibbs said looking at DiNozzo. Gibbs strongly hated his infamous gut right now.

"You? Wrong?" DiNozzo repeated, not accepting the answer. Gibbs had to silently laugh at DiNozzo's behavior. "only _sometimes_, right?"

"Uh, _right_." Gibbs said with a hint of guilt. "We know you were looking up information on Steve Wallace's drug problem and starting a search on a second suspect."

"Hey, why didn't you just tell me you already found the gun and bullet?" Gibbs asked, looking him over suspiciously. "How long did you really plan on staying here looking?"

"I don't know. This seemed like an easier option. I really didn't think that far ahead." DiNozzo answered, grimacing at his answer.

"You _are_ distracted, Tony." Gibbs stated, as he still looked him over.

"Yeah, but I don't mean to be. It won't happen anymore. . ." DiNozzo said in a self-degrading tone.

"Hey, Tony." Gibbs said gently with a hint of worry, as he examined DiNozzo. "Are you done here?"

"Let me just grab my gear." DiNozzo said, snapping back to situation in front of him.


	2. Chapter 2

After driving back to headquarters in separate cars, Gibbs found himself in the elevator with a very quiet DiNozzo. Gibbs turned to initiate a conversation to break the uncomfortable silence, when his phone rang.

"Yeah, Gibbs." Gibbs said into his phone. "I am on my way, Leon." Gibbs let out an audible groan.

"Boss?" DiNozzo looked over in concern. He was eyeing him after his groan from talking with Vance.

"Was there something you wanted to ask me?" DiNozzo asked. Gibbs looked over his agent, treating him with a small grin.

"Nah." Gibbs continued to grin at him until the doors opened. DiNozzo followed him now giving him a suspicious stare. Gibbs passed up the squad room, but he tried to eavesdrop in on his team as he headed up the stairs.

Ziva watched as Gibbs headed off the elevator with DiNozzo behind him. She could see that DiNozzo was trying to analyze Gibbs' behavior. As DiNozzo headed around his desk to sit down, Ziva treated him with her best Gibbs-like stare. DiNozzo squinted back at her in a mocking way.

"What?" DiNozzo finally shouted back at her in frustration. The frustrated tone in his voice even made Gibbs stop on the stairs and look back over in concern.

"So did you _forget_ that you had already located the gun and bullet at the crime scene?" Ziva asked in a sassy and critical tone, noticing that Gibbs was listening in on the conversation. Gibbs noticed that Ziva did not get an answer; instead, DiNozzo quickly turned to his computer trying to ignore her. Gibbs tried to establish eye contact with Ziva, who continued to examine DiNozzo with her eyes. After a moment, Gibbs continued up the stairs to Vance's office.

**Vance's Office**

Gibbs casually walked straight into Vance's office without an introduction from his secretary.

"Ah, Gibbs." Vance said closing up some personnel files on his desk.

"So, do you have any idea who may have really killed Wallace during this alley fight?" Vance asked.

"No, my team is looking into that now. There might have been another shooter." Gibbs stated. "We are also looking into the possibility that Lance Read was setup for murder. Abby is looking through security footage inside the bar right now."

"Hold on, Gibbs." Vance said quickly, as he saw Gibbs heading for the door. Gibbs turned back to Vance in surprise.

"I did also. . .want to talk to you about your team." Vance said cautiously to avoid an instant fight with Gibbs.

"What about my team?" Gibbs said in a strong, defensive tone. Vance gave him a surprised glance. He then smiled, rolled his eyes at him, and chuckled.

"What!" Gibbs snapped back from the uncharacteristically, unprofessional behavior from Vance.

"You have wanted to say something to me since our meeting this morning in MTAC." Gibbs shouted. "Why don't you just say it, Leon?"

"Come on Jethro." Vance started again in a more serious tone. "You know what I am talking about."

"Are you planning to split my team up again?" Gibbs shot back. "Are you planning to tell me your motivations for doing so before doing it this time?"

"Nooooo, I am not planning to split up your team." Vance shared, now becoming irritated with how difficult this discussion had become. "However, McGee was offered the head of the cyber division unit in Okinawa, _Japan."_

"Which he declined." Gibbs reminded him.

"Yes, he did." Vance agreed, now seeing his opportunity to direct the conversation in the correct direction. "Do you know why he declined it?"

"I can guess. He doesn't want to leave the DC area." Gibbs said confidently.

"That was a factor, but it was not the reason." Vance said in a softer and much more serious tone.

"He said he did not want to leave the team right now." Vance said. "He would not tell me exactly why, but I could tell he had specific reasons. So, I asked him directly what the reasons were. He is not only worried about you, but he is also DiNozzo, David, and Ms. Sciuto. He even brought up Dr. Mallard's recent girlfriend, Mary Courtney. McGee first expressed his concerns to me at the Naval District New Year's Eve Party. I had talked with both Ms. Sciuto and McGee there about her recent discovery regarding her parentage. She does not show it how concerned she is normally, but she got really emotionally talking about it. "

"I know about that, Leon." Gibbs shook off his concern in front of Vance. "She knows we will support her in any way."

"You, DiNozzo, and David were all no-shows for that party, Gibbs." Vance stood up from his desk and approached him. "The fact that you were a no-show doesn't surprise me. The fact that DiNozzo and David were no-shows also concerns me."

"Come on, Leon, it is not required that they attend." Gibbs said in return. His concern was now no longer hidden from Vance.

"But, they always have." Vance said. "Now, I don't expect DiNozzo to be the life of the party every year, but it was very noticeable that he was not there." Vance watched as Gibbs looked down, obviously processing the information as he looked over to the side.

"Then, there is Ms. David. According the Eli, she is no longer on speaking terms with him again. She also recently broke up and ended her engagement with Ray Cruz." Vance stated. Gibbs looked at Vance critically, irritated that he knew all of this and was showing this much concern about his team.

"Which brings me to. . . DiNozzo behavior since last April." Vance said inhaling deeply and letting out a noticeable sigh. Gibbs could not contain a wince.

"These are still not reasons for you to be concerned about this team, Leon." Gibbs said defensively.

"They're not?" Vance said in an argumentative tone.

"DiNozzo hasn't been right since E.J. Barrett and her team first arrived in D.C." Vance stated. Gibbs almost gave a nod in agreement. "And within a few weeks of that, his old partner is murdered by none other than his old boss from Baltimore. He had a dirty cop partner and looked the other way. I read that accusation in the newspaper last year, and you are not denying this fact either. Then the old boss turns out to be dirty too, but that one, you both arrest of murder."

"After word got around the Navy Yard that Barrett and DiNozzo were dating late last April, DiNozzo was approached by our new SecNav to track those microchips. He didn't need that. If that assignment and his feeling responsible for E.J. possible death wasn't enough, then his father was accused of murder."

"He had a tough year. I am not disagreeing with you." Gibbs said, now wanting to redirect the conversation. "And, I will have a talk with McGee about reconsidering. . .if you would like."

"I think McGee is right to be concerned and want to stay. He might end up being the only crutch this team has." Vance added.

"What about you Gibbs? Why are you conducting interrogations in the autopsy room now?" Vance asked. "That got a little rough, slamming that kid around. That is the second time this year that you let an interrogation get to personal. Are you breaking rule 10?"

"Oh, come on." Gibbs shot back, losing his patience with Vance's comments. "That punk kid murdered a marine."

"DiNozzo." Vance redirected. Gibbs' anger weakened. "You are just as concerned as I am, aren't you?"

"He is fine." Gibbs stated.

"You didn't want him dating Barrett." Vance stated. Gibbs glared at him.

"You were out of town for that whole case, Leon. But, there is no way they will ever get back together again. DiNozzo doesn't trust her anymore. He was very angry with her for leaving him in that alley and to go hiding for months."

"You didn't want him dating Barrett. . ." Vance repeated, which angered Gibbs. "but, you did not hesitate in partnering him up with his ex-fiancé on a case. "

"Never date a co-worker." Gibbs repeated one of his rules.

"Unless she is someone from the PsyOps Division?" Vance through in.

"What makes Barrett different from Ray Cruz? He was working the Port-to-Port case also." Vance questioned. "You don't tell McGee and David who they can and cannot date."

"Is there are point to all of this? These are not real traumas. There is no reason to justify benching me or members of my team, if that is what you are suggesting here." Gibbs shot back angrily.

"Do you think it was a wise decision pairing DiNozzo up with that ex-fiancé now? I let that play out, since I trusted your instincts. Since I went to the L.A. office last week, I have received three separate phone calls from Ms. Miller on my voicemail. All of these calls are requests for permission to work with her NCIS _liaison_—Agent DiNozzo again regarding other Navy-related stories that she is interested in pursuing." Vance informed him, which just earned a shrug and irritated glance from Gibbs.

"So. . .in other words, he won't return her phone calls, so she is using you. Once again, these are not traumas. These are personal, out-of-work issues." Gibbs stated.

"Your people live at work, Gibbs, so it doesn't surprise me that certain issues interfere and collide with work. The part that does surprise me is when these issues are not resolved more quickly."

"Dr. Mallard's murderous girlfriend, Ziva's father and CIA Agent Cruz, and then Ms. Sciuto's forensic knowledge are all personal but also work-related issues. And every single one of DiNozzo's problems _are_ worked related. His problems started in Baltimore, but they have found their way to him here in D.C. over a decade later. His former partner, former boss, and even his former ex-fiancé are no longer just his problems, but they have become NCIS problems as well. To top it all off, these problems with Barrett and the microchips are really eating away at him. His personality has become barely recognizable to me anymore. I have learned more about Agent DiNozzo, as a person, in these past seven months than I did in the years prior. And, I am seeing the same destructive patterns that I first saw in him when Director Shepard was killed."

"When do you have the time to analyze my team this much? How are you even getting all of this information?" Gibbs started to shout, but was so angry and concerned at the same time that he struggled putting together his argument. "When did you become such a _supposed_ expert on what motivates my team?"

"What was this about this morning?" Vance said grabbing the remote to his Plasma screen, quickly starting up the footage of this morning's event where Gibbs was shouting at DiNozzo about the bullet and gun from the crime scene. He turned and glared at Vance.

"That should have been directed at me." Vance admitted. "You watch me and you analyze me, but you don't ask me the hard questions."

"Don't be so surprised Gibbs. You know, when I became director, that a new surveillance system was installed with audio as well as video ability. This system gives me both eyes and ears in almost any part of this building at any time. And, it never stops recording. With the amount of time that I have spent out-of-town this year, I have had to go through more footage than normal. This was all installed after Jenny Shepard used this office for her own agenda. You were here when they installed it, and you have seen me use it."

"I don't know if it was intended to be used in this manner." Gibbs shot back.

"This is exactly what it is used for." Vance retorted. "We have had moles in this agency. We had a previous director using agents to track arms dealers. And, we had a lab assistant who tried to frame an agent of murder. Remember how the Port-to-Port killer got inside and stole your glasses off of your own desk last year? I cannot give enough reasons as to why this is necessary, Gibbs."

"You don't need to be spying on _us_ the way you are." Gibbs shot back.

"Since 911, this government has been spying on its own citizens. You are telling me that agents that serve that same government aren't treated the same way, if not more so? We need to know what makes every agent tick. With that being said, is there a problem between you and DiNozzo?"

"No." Gibbs angrily shot back.

"You control who he dates, and you bench him when shows any interest in anyone else. You sent Agent McGee with an unarmed Probationary Agent Ned Dorneget to bring in the Russian Intelligence Agent, Ava Baransky. During a brief stop at a gas station, McGee was pumping gas, when Dorneget was then overpowered by her and she managed to escape."

"We were told to release her anyway." Gibbs interjected, trying to redirect the conversation.

"There is a strong chance that that situation would have been handled much better with two well-experienced field agents picking her up. At the very least, McGee with DiNozzo would have remembered to bring their weapons." Vance argued sarcastically.

"What is your point? That was my decision, and DiNozzo was too distracted."

"But previously, over the past eleven years, you never batted an eye for him doing that." Vance argued. "If you are trying to snap him out of this depression that he is in or trying to build his self-confidence, these strategies are not working. Is this affecting him in the field now, Gibbs, or is that my imagination?" Vance quickly added as Gibbs headed toward the door.

"Leave my team alone." Gibbs stated.

"He is lacking confidence and his personality has changed." Vance added.

"Leon, I think you are abusing your power and stalking my team. DiNozzo will be fine. There are no problems between the two of us, and I think you are spending way too much time using that system." Gibbs growled, as he opened the door to leave.

"What would you like me to do about Ms. Miller's requests?" Vance shouted out to Gibbs. Gibbs froze, wanting to bolt but knowing he should not. Gibbs sighed and turned back to face Vance. He reluctantly reentered the office closing the door again.

"We don't talk to the press, Leon." Gibbs said resentfully. Vance nodded in agreement.

"What changed your mind, Gibbs?" Vance asked. Gibbs struggled to control his temper.

"Look, DiNozzo, was a different person when he first started here." Gibbs offered.

". . .are you trying to change him back?" Vance asked. "Or, trying to_ prevent_ him from changing back?"

"You know, Leon, I don't know if I should be scared that you are watching my team so close." Gibbs stated. "Should I be asking Abby and McGee to disable the system or should I give the team the heads up that they should talk in the bathrooms or elevators for now on?"

"And, you don't spy on your own team?" Vance asked. "You walk into the squad room knowing full well what was being discussed. Our methods are different, but I am simply doing the same thing Gibbs. Then there are other times that I am just trying to figure out what your motivations are."

"You have crossed the line, Leon." Gibbs stated.

". . .you had Dr. Mallard do a profile on DiNozzo and then talk with him about his relationship with Ms. Miller." Vance mentioned. "I don't think you expected DiNozzo to respond to Ms. Miller the way that he did, and I think you are even more confused with the way he has been ignoring her phone calls."

"There is no problem between us." Gibbs repeated.

Before Gibbs was ready to once again tell Vance to mind his own business, Vance played another clip from the surveillance system. Gibbs watched as DiNozzo entered autopsy to talk with Ducky.

_**"Ah, h-e-l-l-o, I was expecting Gibbs." Ducky stated in the video surveillance footage. Gibbs continued to watch with Vance. Gibbs was surprised how much DiNozzo did admit to Ducky during their discussion. Ducky had not divulged all of the details. Vance on occasion would look over at Gibbs' reaction to the discussion between Ducky and DiNozzo. "It isn't fate. It's Gibbs. Dude set me up."**_

"After eleven years working together, you are worried that DiNozzo is really turning into you. Aren't you?" Vance stated.

"I do think he is repeating a few of my mistakes. . ." Gibbs responded softly in resignation. ". . .and _**no**_."

Gibbs looked back over at Vance, who finally had nothing new to add, as he felt he proved his argument to Gibbs. He shook his head as he left Vance's office.


	3. Chapter 3

As Gibbs headed down to the squad room, he was stopped by Abby.

"Gibbs, we have a suspect." Abby yelled. "You would never believe who I saw on the video footage. Here come down to my lab with me. You would have to see it to believe it." Abby pulled his arm as they ran for the elevator.

"Abs." Gibbs said with a laugh. They took the elevator down to the lab.

**Abby's Lab**

"Okay, okay, let me bring it up. This was fifteen minutes before the fight in the alley and the shooting. Watch this man coming into the door of the bar, he goes up to Read at the counter. See that? He is handing him a gun. Now that gun has to be the gun that matches the bullet that was pulled out of Steve Wallace."

"What?" Gibbs looked at her in surprise.

"Now keep watching. Now I can magnify and okay here we go. Here is the mystery guy."

As the image appeared, so that Gibbs could see it, Abby spread her arms apart. "Tada."

"That is our suspect. When did _he_ get out of jail!" Gibbs yelled out. "Why weren't we told that he was out of jail?"

"I guess he is on parole." Abby added.

"How did he manage that, though?"

"As long as he isn't assigned to my lab again, . . ." Abby smiled and joked.

"We have to find him. . ." Gibbs became both angry and worried.

"There is more on this surveillance footage Gibbs. Well, Read shoves a gun into a garbage can-right. . .here. This was maybe ten minutes after the shooting."

"Tony, Ziva, and McGee already left to find the gun and to arrest _**Chip**_." Abby informed him.

"DiNozzo. . .What!" Gibbs said a bit flustered. "Why didn't they call me?"

"You were with Vance. And, after they saw the footage, they did not even hesitate in bolting out the door. Since Chip is supposed to be on parole, McGee was able to bring up Chip's current location right away."

"This is some sort of setup." Gibbs said in a worried tone, as he dialed his phone.

"DiNozzo, what is going on?" Gibbs shouted at him in the phone.

"What?" Gibbs said. "You be careful. Something else is going on here." Gibbs continued to talk with DiNozzo as he headed out of the building.

**Crime Scene**

When Gibbs finally arrived on the scene in Baltimore, he found McGee talking just outside the bar with a detective. He could see Chip inside a squad car. Ziva was standing back in the alleyway, but Gibbs did not see DiNozzo. As Gibbs approached Ziva from behind, he passed her up and rounded the corner to where he found DiNozzo inside a dumpster.

"I found it!" DiNozzo yelled out from inside the dumpster. He popped up from the dumpster, as Gibbs continued closer to where DiNozzo was.

"Oh, hey. . .hey there, Boss." DiNozzo said surprised to see him.

"Tony." Gibbs said strongly. He waved for him to get out of the dumpster.

Tony climbed out and turned toward Gibbs. He sensed a Gibbs-lecture coming.

"Boss?" DiNozzo asked in a worried tone, his positive demeanor quickly fading.

"_You_ give Ziva that evidence, and then the both of you drive back to the Navy Yard."

"Uh, . . .okay. . .yes, Boss." DiNozzo said choosing not to question the confusing order.

"McGee." Gibbs shouted as he approached the police car with Chip inside of it.

McGee headed over and stood by Gibbs outside the police car.

"How did he get out of jail? How did he get out of jail, and we didn't know about it?" Gibbs stated his question. "He set up a federal agent for murder. . .and he is on _parole?"_

"I. . .can look into that." McGee said, stepping away with his cellphone out. Gibbs continued to stare at Chip. He flashed a badge at the police officer behind the wheel. He opened the front, passenger side door and got into the police car to talk with Chip. Gibbs kept his back to him.

"Hello, Agent Gibbs, it is nice to see you again." Chip said. "I guess you are wondering why I am out of prison and why I killed Wallace." Gibbs continued to listen, but he did not turn around to face Chip.

"I guess I am going back to prison for a long time." Chip added, without answering the questions he posed.

"Is that what you want?" Gibbs asked.

"Why, would you be able to cut a deal for me?" Chip quickly asked. Gibbs quickly processed how willing Chip was to go to jail or cut a deal. As he caught McGee approaching, he quickly got out of the police car and approached him.

"Talk to me, McGee." Gibbs said as he approached McGee.

"Well, Boss, this is rather weird. I guess Chip agreed to testify at Raimey's trial. He has some additional evidence that could put Raimey away even longer." McGee explained.

"Raimey committed murder. He is going to jail no matter what. Please tell me Chip didn't get released early for this testimony?" Gibbs restated the obvious.

"He has provided testimony concerning corruption in the Baltimore police department before." McGee explained.

"Ah, I don't want to hear it." Gibbs said waving him off. "He is up to something here. He wants to be thrown in prison."

"What are we doing, Boss?" McGee asked. "Are you thinking he is trying to set Tony up again?"

"I am calling Fornell. He can hold on to Chip." Gibbs explained, as he and McGee rode back to the Navy Yard.

**Squad Room**

Gibbs and McGee came off the elevator and approached the squad room.

"Oh, hey." DiNozzo said slightly distracted as he almost crashed into Gibbs.

"Where are you going, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Ah, Abby just called. . ." DiNozzo stated but stopped when he saw how tense Gibbs was when he had arrived.

"Let's go." Gibbs said looking at DiNozzo. As they entered the elevator, DiNozzo looked over at Gibbs questionably.

"I think he is trying to set you up again, DiNozzo." Gibbs admitted to DiNozzo.

"Did you talk to him?" DiNozzo asked. Gibbs nodded as the doors for Abby's lab opened.

"Okay Gibbs, we have a problem." Abby said with a serious and concerned look, as she stood in the middle of the room before the evidence.

"This is just . . .weird." Abby admitted.

"What is it Abs?" Gibbs asked.

"We have two guns here, Gibbs. One is registered to Lance Read. The other one was stolen evidence from an unsolved murder dating back to 1999. It was an unsolved case belonging to the Baltimore Police Department."

"Now we know that Chip brought Read a gun. And, we know the gun was used to kill Steve Wallace in the alley. Read was the only one seen with a gun in that alley, and there was only one shot fired according to the witnesses." Abby explained. "So, was this a premeditated murder?"

"Chip wanted us to arrest him, when Read is the real killer? He didn't expect Abby to look at security footage in the bar." Tony tried to digest the information.

"We don't know what Chip's true motives were. However, if these three are working together, this could have been made to look like we covered up a murder for a Marine and that we set Chip up." Gibbs stated. Abby raised her eyebrows and looked at Gibbs in concern.

"Gibbs." Abby said in concern.

"It's okay Abs. You caught it. We know that Chip is not the real killer. But, he is an accomplice to a murder. I want to know more about this stolen gun from evidence though."

"Tony, go talk to McGee and Ziva and tell them what happened." Gibbs ordered. "I want them to go to the Baltimore P.D. and find out more about this cold case."

"Shouldn't I go Boss?" DiNozzo asked as he stopped and turned around. Gibbs disapproving glare gave DiNozzo his answer.

"Yes, Boss." DiNozzo said in a defeated tone as he obediently went up to talk to them.

"Gibbs." Abby said. "This is really bad. What would have happened if Chip's plan would have worked?"

"We don't know if this is really over, Abs. Chip chose a former Marine to kill this guy with stolen evidence from an old Baltimore case. He wanted us involved in this case." Gibbs reminded her. Gibbs kissed her, as he reached to answer his ringing phone.

"Gibbs." Gibbs answered his phone. "Alright, I will be right up, Director." Abby caught Gibbs' eyes rolling before he left.


	4. Chapter 4

**Vance's Office**

Gibbs entered the office to find Wendy Miller sitting at the table with Vance.

"So what's up?" Gibbs asked looking to Vance.

"We have a situation here." Vance started to explain. "When I called Ms. Miller after we talked this morning, she informed me that she interviewed both Raimey in prison. Chip Sterling provided testimony against Major Raimey. It was testimony regarding a gun he took from an old Baltimore Police Department cold case."

"I interviewed Police Major Raimey in prison." Wendy explained. "I was planning to run his story in the paper, but I wanted to check with you before I did that. However, _**Tony**_ never returns my calls, so I finally called Director Vance."

"Raimey has been making false accusations for months. I have read the papers." Gibbs added.

"Where is DiNozzo now?" Vance asked as he stood up.

"downstairs. . .in the squad room" Gibbs answered.

"I want to speak to him. . ._alone_." Vance stated. Gibbs shot Vance a disgusted look, but Vance returned a no nonsense glare.

"Alright, Wendy, why don't you come with me?" Gibbs said as he directed her toward the door.

**Squad room**

"Why haven't you two left yet?" Gibbs asked as he approached.

"We may have something already." McGee responded. The Baltimore P.D. noticed that evidence was missing from a cold case file back in late April of last year. This was two weeks before Price was killed and we arrested Raimey."

"Chip was put on parole, after he provided this new testimony regarding the gun that Raimey stole from the cold case file." McGee further explained. "The case itself involved a runaway teenager being found dead in a forest preserve. It appeared to be a robbery, and it has remained a cold case."

"So Chip somehow stole the gun himself, tried to pin that on Raimey, and then earned his parole for testifying against Raimey?" Tony asked shaking his head from the confusing concepts.

"Chip and Raimey have been in the same prison since Raimey's arrest in May." McGee explained, but stopped when he had realized that Wendy Miller had heard the whole theory.

"Hi there, Wendy." McGee said with a smile. Ziva turned to see her standing there behind Gibbs.

"Hi." She said, looking at Tony who had just realized she was standing there too.

"What-when did you get here?" DiNozzo asked with nervous laugh. She just smiled back at him.

"I was waiting for you to call me back." Wendy said with a smile.

"Tony." Gibbs tried to snap Tony out of the staring contest that he was having with Wendy.

"Hey." Gibbs repeated in a louder but soft tone. "Go talk to Vance. He wants to speak with you."

"He does?" DiNozzo asked.

"Go on." Gibbs pushed as he and Wendy entered the squad room. Gibbs pulled out a chair by his desk for Wendy as he sat down himself at his own desk.

"Boss." DiNozzo said in an uncomfortable tone. Gibbs looked up at him, giving him a critical stare.

"Yes, Boss." Tony said looking down and walking toward the stairs. Tony continued to watch them from the stairs, but no one was talking yet.

"What does the director want to talk to him about?" McGee asked in concern. Gibbs lightly laughed to himself, wondering when McGee became such a mother hen to all of them.

". . .about Raimey." Gibbs answer looking down at a file on his desk.

"Couldn't you have done that?" McGee asked. ". . .asked Tony about Raimey, I mean."

"He wants to ask him himself, McGee." Gibbs said looking at McGee strongly with a small grin.

"Right." McGee answered.

"So, our very own Tony DiNozzo has not returned your phone calls, Wendy. How long has he been doing this?" Ziva asked.

"He stopped returning my calls on February 15th, when the case was officially over with NCIS." Wendy answered.

"Wow. That is over a month now." Ziva responded leaning back in her chair, still looking to Wendy.

"Z-i-v-a." Gibbs said strongly, trying to redirect the conversation. She turned to Gibbs, who gave her a warning stare.

"Come on, Gibbs." Wendy said. "Like you never tried to fix us back up before?" She said in her sassy tone.

"Is that what Vance meant last month, when he called you cupid?" McGee asked horrified when he realized that he stated the question out loud.

"M-c-G-e-e." Gibbs said in a frustrated and almost embarrassed tone, giving him a glare. Wendy just laughed at the conversation.

**Vance's Office**

"Come on in Agent DiNozzo." Vance said as he heard a knock at the door.

"Sir?" DiNozzo said as he entered the office.

"Why don't you sit down?" Vance said directing him to the table. DiNozzo made a nervous bolt for the table.

"This situation with Major Raimey right now. . .your old supervisor. . .is there anything more that we should know about?" Vance asked as he sat down next to DiNozzo at the table.

"Honestly sir, I never knew he was dirty." DiNozzo stated. "My gut. . .isn't so good I guess. I don't have the Gibbs-gut." He said with a nervous laugh looking down. ". . .never will either."

"No normally your gut is fine." Vance stated. "It wasn't your fault that Raimey and even Jenny Shepard abused their power. And, you shouldn't blame yourself for trusting them. You are right to trust our new SecNav, though." Vance added. DiNozzo nodded in agreement.

"Either Chip Sterling got the information from Raimey in prison about that stolen gun from evidence or he stole it from evidence himself and tried to blame Raimey for it." Vance stated.

"What does your gut think on this one?" Vance asked, looking him over.

"I-I don't know." DiNozzo answered in a shaky tone. He looked lost in his thoughts trying to process the possibilities.

Vance gave him a few minutes before asking again. "What are you thinking?" He asked again, as Gibbs burst through the door.

"Gibbs!" Vance shouted angrily, standing up.

"What are you doing to my agent?" Gibbs asked accusingly.

"Excuse me?" Vance responded challenging Gibbs.

"We were just talking . . ." DiNozzo intervened.

"I am just asking the hard questions that you aren't capable of asking right now." Vance shot back. "We didn't get very far though."

"Boss. . .Boss really it is fine." DiNozzo said feeling guilty of being the cause of the discussion.

"Well, get to it then." Gibbs shot back. Vance and Gibbs shot angry glares at each other before turning to look at DiNozzo. Gibbs sat down at the table next to DiNozzo, looking him over.

"I am already aware that you found out your old partner was a dirty cop and did not turn him in. However, is there anything else that we need to know about? We don't want any surprises. Is there anything that you haven't shared. . .anything that could be used against you?"

"No. . .not that I am aware of. Nothing serious. . .no nothing" DiNozzo hesitated for a minute to process the question, but then he looked to them and answered.

"Were you ever reprimanded or suspended?" Vance asked.

"Not even a head slap." DiNozzo laughed slightly. He looked over at Gibbs, who gave him a hard look back.

"Why is Wendy here again?" DiNozzo asked.

"She got tired of you not returning your phone calls." Gibbs said in lecture tone.

"Gibbs." Vance warned. "She interviewed Raimey in prison." He looked over at Gibbs.

"Why aren't you returning her calls, Tony?" Gibbs asked in a softer tone. DiNozzo started to visibly blush and sweat uncomfortably from the constant personal questions from the two. He shrugged his shoulders at Gibbs in response.

"I am sorry, Boss, I really don't have a reason." DiNozzo admitted.

"Did you even give it a chance?" Gibbs asked, trying to understand DiNozzo's actions.

"No." DiNozzo answered tensely.

"When Raimey killed Price, he wanted you involved in the case. His goal was for us to add Price's murder to the list of the Port-to-Port killings. He obviously has been keeping track of you." Vance pointed out.

"So has Chip." Gibbs added, looking DiNozzo over.

"Gibbs." Vance warned.

"All right, DiNozzo, we are done here." Vance said standing up. Gibbs stood up also, getting ready to leave. When DiNozzo stood up, he started to sway. He felt suddenly overwhelmed with Gibbs' comments and the recent events of the day.

"Gibbs, hang on a minute." Vance said, as he watched them both head for the door. DiNozzo turned to look at both of them before reluctantly leaving the office.

"Leon." Gibbs said, when DiNozzo had left.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to cause him to go into a panic?" Vance asked harshly.

"I think I know what my agent is capable of handling." Gibbs answered. Vance ignored his comment.

"I am a little suspicious in Wendy's choice of interview subjects." Gibbs stated.

"I did put in a call." Vance quickly said. "Whatever his connection to all of this is, Chip violated his parole. He is going back to jail."


	5. Chapter 5

**Squad Room**

"Where are those two?" Gibbs asked as he approached his desk.

"They just left, Gibbs." Ziva answered.

"Yeah, I see that." Gibbs said. "Where did they go?"

"They didn't say, but they left in the elevator." McGee responded.

"I didn't want DiNozzo to leave this building." Gibbs said, dialing his cellphone.

"Hey, DiNozzo! Where are you going?" Gibbs asked. "All right, get back up here then. You aren't leaving." He ordered.

"What is going on Gibbs?" Ziva asked. "What should we do next?"

"After DiNozzo questions Wendy, I would like to have a chat with her myself." Gibbs said. "She talked with Raimey in prison."

"Gibbs, last month I got the impression you really didn't know Wendy." Ziva stated. "You knew her better than you let on before." Ziva's question was apparently ignored by Gibbs.

"Boss?" McGee interjected. "How did you know Wendy?"

"I was going through my divorce, when they were engaged." Gibbs finally admitted. "My divorce wasn't a good thing for Tony to be exposed to."

McGee exchanged a surprised look with Ziva, who raised her eyebrows at the revelation.

"Maybe, I should go have a talk with Raimey myself." Gibbs finally announced, avoiding the two. He grabbed his coat and headed for the elevator.

"Boss?" DiNozzo said as he nearly ran into Gibbs again as he tried to get off the elevator. Gibbs pushed him back into the elevator. Gibbs waited for the elevator doors to close.

"Talk to me, Tony." Gibbs said as he hit the elevator's emergency stop and turning to face him.

"Wendy said that there were about four Baltimore cops that were suspicious of Raimey being dirty right before he murdered Danny. The difference was that Danny had a better idea as to how long Raimey was on the take. Wendy said that he admitted to killing Price. He is not denying that. However, he does want to take some people down with him." DiNozzo explained.

"And?" Gibbs prompted.

"Those four Baltimore cops did go to Internal Affairs." DiNozzo stated.

"What about Wendy?" Gibbs asked softly. "Answer my questions from earlier."

"Boss." DiNozzo said. "I have nothing to say about Wendy."

"Answer my question, Tony." Gibbs ordered.

"Raimey isn't working with Chip to set me up." DiNozzo responded.

"Is that a fact or does your gut say that?" Gibbs stated.

"You don't trust my gut." DiNozzo responded.

"I do trust your gut." Gibbs answered. Tony turned his back to Gibbs and looked up at the ceiling of the elevator. Gibbs grabbed his shoulder and shifted him around.

"Tony." Gibbs warned, stepping closer almost backing DiNozzo into the elevator wall. "Do you want this thing with Wendy to work?" Gibbs allowed DiNozzo a long hesitation before answering.

"No." DiNozzo answered looking directly at Gibbs.

"You're lying to me." Gibbs stated.

"I would like to keep that time in my life, in the past." DiNozzo answered.

"She was a good thing in your life." Gibbs said, maintaining his position close to Tony. "She understands you very well."

"She was my high school, music teacher, when I was going through . . ." DiNozzo began to argue his point to Gibbs but then stopped before he said something too revealing. "She was there when I hit rock bottom, when I found out I was partners with a dirty cop."

"She didn't cause these things." Gibbs said.

"No, but these are not positive memories that come flooding back when I see her." DiNozzo admitted. "They can't be for her either. And, she walked away before."

"What exactly are you going through now? What exactly is this called, Tony?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm fine." DiNozzo said quickly.

"No. . .no you're not." Gibbs said.

"Even Vance is worried. . .about you." Gibbs said. ". . .not to mention Ducky, Ziva, McGee, Abby, and me."

"I don't think I am acting that differently." DiNozzo said quickly.

"I can tell that you aren't sleeping. These dark, black, lines under your eyes weren't there before." Gibbs said rubbing his thumb across under DiNozzo's eye. DiNozzo tried to back away from that, but Gibbs only closed the gap between them by stepping closer.

"You have not recovered, since the time you spent in the hospital after the SecNav's assignment." Gibbs said. "Vance thinks it started even earlier than that."

"I am not acting any different." DiNozzo almost growled in frustration.

"Where is the smart a** comment that I have grown to expect?" Gibbs said softly. "No quick, goofy comebacks to distract me? If you aren't being defensive, you are self-degrading."

"It is has been eleven years, I have run out." DiNozzo recoiled. Gibbs examined DiNozzo for a moment. Then, out of frustration, DiNozzo could not prevent himself from revealing how he really felt. "I have always poked fun of myself and been over-defensive of any type of bruises to my ego. However, I have run out of fresh material, and it isn't my job to keep everyone entertained."

"What?" DiNozzo asked, seeing Gibbs' reaction.

"What was that?" Gibbs asked. DiNozzo looked at him in confusion. Gibbs continued to stare at him. Feeling very transparent at the moment, DiNozzo felt Gibbs' eyes burn threw him.

"Boss?" DiNozzo pleaded for him to back off.

"I get growled at and smacked on the head for the smart a** comments," DiNozzo considered. ". . .and for making a serious job and office a little fun at times. But when, I am focused solely on work and leave the sarcasm at home, than I am on everybody's radar." His voice was starting to sound exhausted and frustrated.

"We have been trying to help you for months, Tony. Maybe Wendy can help you, since we can't."

"I am fine." DiNozzo insisted.

"Hey, spend some time with Wendy." Gibbs said. "You are her liaison from NCIS."

"Why are you doing this to me?" DiNozzo asked with an emotional tone in his voice.

"I should have gotten involved nine and a half years ago." Gibbs mentioned watching DiNozzo closely.

"Boss." DiNozzo protested.

"Vance even said that this is affecting your job now too." Gibbs informed him.

"I don't get this. I am more focused on work right now than ever before." DiNozzo argued, getting louder and more frustrated.

"But you don't trust your own judgment." Gibbs stated. "You follow everyone else's leads."

"Are we done here?" DiNozzo asked, trying to slip around Gibbs to release the emergency stop button.

As he witnessed DiNozzo trying to reach around him to get out of the elevator, Gibbs reached over and released the emergency stop himself. The elevator continued down to the garage.

"You go home. Get some sleep." Gibbs ordered, looking over his agent, who could not look back at Gibbs, as he quickly escaped the elevator at the first opportunity. Gibbs watched as DiNozzo almost ran away from him. Gibbs stood there a moment to try and understand his behavior patterns.

"Yeah, Gibbs." Gibbs finally answered his ringing cell phone. "What, come on, Leon! I just wanted maybe fifteen minutes with Raimey. Well, why are you against this? All right-all right, I am coming back up." Gibbs swore as he shoved his cell phone back in his pocket and got back into the elevator.

"Boss!" McGee yelled as he saw Gibbs get off of the elevator.

"When Raimey was being transported back to the prison from the courthouse, he was shot. This all happened less than an hour ago." McGee explained, showing some short ZNN footage on the Plasma.

"Shooter?" Gibbs asked directly.

"We don't have a name for him yet, but he was arrested. That information has not been released yet." McGee answered.

"Did Raimey survive the shooting?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes he was shot in the stomach. No other information is available yet." McGee said.

"I want to know who the shooter was McGee." Gibbs ordered as he headed for Vance's office.

**Vance's Office**

Gibbs went right past the secretary's desk again and opened the door to Vance's office unannounced.

"Okay, what do you know?" Gibbs asked angrily.

"I know as much as you, now, Gibbs. Raimey was shot when he was being transported from the courthouse, so I did not want you going to that hospital."

"Why do I have this feeling that you know more than you are telling me?" Gibbs asked suspiciously.

"I don't Gibbs." Vance said unconvincingly to Gibbs.

"That thing." Gibbs said, indicating the Plasma and the security system. "You were at the L.A. office, when DiNozzo's old partner was killed and we arrested Raimey. Did you listen in on DiNozzo's discussion with Raimey? I left DiNozzo alone with him in interrogation for a while."

"Why? Are you interested in seeing that footage now Gibbs?" Vance asked.

"No." Gibbs answered with a fuming stare.

"DiNozzo was with him maybe fifteen minutes. Basically, all Raimey offered him was a lot of degrading comments, starting with how DiNozzo did not pick up on the fact that his own partner was dirty and that it took him over a decade to even suspect Raimey. Raimey also brought up his failed relationship with Wendy Miller, and his failure to commit to anyone else, thereafter. He also said that DiNozzo has not amounted to very much since leaving Baltimore." Vance explained. "He did most, if not all of the talking. DiNozzo just stood there and did not try to defend himself."

"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" Gibbs argued.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to know. Why did you leave those two alone in the interrogation room?" Vance asked.

"I was trying not to interfere, and I trust DiNozzo. It was DiNozzo's request." Gibbs added.

"Did you ever ask him his version of what was discussed?" Vance asked. Gibbs shook his head and started to approach the door.

"Do you want to see that footage? I can email it to you." Vance said.

"I wouldn't know how to open it." Gibbs said, turning around to look at Vance.

"I'll put it on your desktop." Vance offered. Gibbs groaned.

"Were you planning to show that footage to DiNozzo earlier? . . .if I hadn't walked in on the discussion." Gibbs asked.

"I considered it, and I had it ready. He was already uncomfortable talking to me, and I thought it might make things worse. Then you walked in, and it got worse anyway." Vance shot at Gibbs.

"My mind has been going in circles trying to figure out what has been wrong with DiNozzo all of these months. This footage could explain how everything started. When did you first see it?" Gibbs shouted.

"Roughly a week after it happened, Gibbs, when I returned from L.A." Vance offered. "Honestly, Gibbs, I expected you to anticipate this or order DiNozzo to divulge this information."

"Of course I wanted to know." Gibbs said. "I wouldn't force it out of him."

"Now you are regretting that decision." Vance said. "He might think you don't care."

"I wish you would stop telling me what I am thinking!" Gibbs yelled.

"Go." Vance ordered. Gibbs was out the door almost as quickly as Vance made the order.


	6. Conclusion

**Squad room**

"Boss, Raimey just died." McGee announced to Gibbs, as he entered the squad room. He froze.

"Who was the shooter, McGee?" Gibbs asked, looking up at the ZNN coverage that Ziva and McGee were both watching.

"Danny Price's father." McGee answered.

"Oh my g-." Gibbs responded with a groan from that information.

"Boss, Chip is back in jail. Vance talked with the judge about his parole violation." McGee explained.

"Yeah I know that McGee." Gibbs said.

"Price's father knew Lance Read." Ziva offered.

"He was actually hired as a hit man to kill Raimey." McGee continued.

"Hooooow, did you find that out?" Gibbs asked turning and approaching her.

"Chip confessed to Fornell, when he was returned to jail for violating his parole. He was not in on the plot to kill Wallace. Chip was in on the plot to kill Raimey. The fight in the alley was not planned after all, but it did ruin the plan to kill Raimey. Price's father had to carry out the plan alone then."

"Wow." Gibbs responded.

"Where are you going, Boss?" McGee asked quickly.

"I sent DiNozzo home. I want to check in on him." Gibbs answered, stopping in his tracks. He turned to face McGee.

"I can check on him Gibbs." Ziva said to him. Gibbs shook his head.

"Boss? Did you want me to go, instead?" McGee asked.

"No, I want to make sure he is really home first." Gibbs said.

"A lot has happened in the last hour." Ziva offered.

"Oh, okay. Oh, right I will track his cell phone." McGee said as he sat down at his computer.

"Yes, he is home, Boss. He is using his phone right now." McGee said. McGee and Ziva watched as Gibbs headed for the elevator.

**DiNozzo's Apartment**

Gibbs arrived at the apartment building and walked up to DiNozzo's apartment door. He started to knock with little success. He then started to bang on the door much louder before he pulled out his cellphone to call DiNozzo. DiNozzo answered his phone.

"Tony, I am outside your door. Open up." Gibbs shouted into the phone.

"Hey there Boss, what brings you by?" DiNozzo asked. Gibbs looked him over critically. He had wet hair sticking up in every direction. He stood barefoot in a t-shirt and jeans.

"I just got out of the shower." DiNozzo responded to Gibbs' critical stares.

"You are supposed to be sleeping." Gibbs said entering the apartment.

"I am working on that, Boss." DiNozzo answered, somewhat defensively. "I am just trying to . . ."

"Relax? Have you been watching television?" Gibbs asked, looking strongly at DiNozzo.

"No, well, the Duke is on." DiNozzo answered. Gibbs could hear an old western playing in the living room. Gibbs followed DiNozzo into his apartment. He could see a half-full, bottle of wine sitting on the coffee table with a pizza box. There was a blanket spread across his lazyboy recliner.

"Now see, this is why you aren't getting a decent nights' sleep, Tony." Gibbs said taking in the scene, shaking his head in irritation.

"What is wrong with your bed?" Gibbs asked, looking in the direction of the bedroom.

"Nothing." DiNozzo answered. "_You_ sleep on your couch."

"Ever try just warm milk?" Gibbs asked, picking up the wine bottle.

"Warm milk?" DiNozzo said sarcastically with a laugh. Gibbs returned a no-nonsense glare.

"Sorry Boss, no I haven't." DiNozzo answered. Gibbs grabbed the pizza box and brought it over to the kitchen area. He wrapped up the leftovers and threw out the box. He then put the cork back in the bottle of wine, and he put it into the refrigerator.

"Boss?" DiNozzo asked, wondering why he was there and why the sudden interest in how he slept.

"Do you even have milk?" Gibbs asked. "Ah, amazing." He said as he poured some into a glass and heated it up in the microwave.

As the milk heated up, Gibbs looked over at DiNozzo. The microwave buzzer before he could start lecturing him on eating better.

"You haven't watched the news have you?" Gibbs asked, pulling the glass out of the microwave.

"Drink." Gibbs ordered.

"Ah, no I haven't, Boss." DiNozzo said. "Thanks." Gibbs grabbed DiNozzo's shoulder and pushed him towards the couch.

"Raimey was shot, Tony." Gibbs said as Tony sat down.

"What? When?" DiNozzo asked in confusion.

"It happened today, when he was being transported back to the prison." Gibbs said.

"What happened?" DiNozzo asked.

"Price's father shot him." Gibbs answered. DiNozzo stopped himself from spitting out the milk. "Actually, he had hired a hit man, Lance Read. As you know, Read killed Wallace instead, after he was given the gun by Chip." DiNozzo looked as though he may lose his lunch.

"I knew Price's father, Boss. He would never do something like that. He would not do either. . .that cannot be true, Boss." DiNozzo rambled trying to defend Price's father.

"T-o-n-y." Gibbs emphasized his name saying is slowly and softly. "There were witnesses. Price's father shooting Raimey was caught on camera. There is proof. He confessed."

"Boss, that isn't possible." DiNozzo said trying to stand up, but Gibbs was sitting in front of him, holding him down by the shoulders.

"That is what happened. He is dead, Tony. Raimey died." Gibbs said softly.

"What!" DiNozzo shouted and managed to get out from underneath Gibbs hold, only to throw up into the garbage can. DiNozzo quickly tied up the garbage bag and threw the garbage bag onto the balcony before closing the door. He then started to pace in the center of the living room holding his head.

"Come here." Gibbs grabbed his arm and directed him back over to the couch.

"Sit down, Tony." Gibbs ordered grabbing him by both shoulders and pushing him down on the couch.

"Uh, Boss, thanks. . .for the concern. Thank you for checking on me, but I would really like to be alone right now." Tony looked at Gibbs and made a plea. Gibbs sat down in front of him, examining how agitated Tony was right now. The strong look Gibbs was giving DiNozzo showed that he was not going anywhere.

"Tony, talk to me." Gibbs said as he continued to look him over.

"I think I will need something a little stronger than warm milk to sleep, Boss." DiNozzo confessed. "I don't think the wine will cut it either."

"No more alcohol, Tony." Gibbs said. "You already drank half of that bottle in under an hour." DiNozzo looked around becoming increasingly agitated as Gibbs continued to sit so close and as he continued to process all the information.

"Talk to me." Gibbs said again.

"He's dead. Price's father was _arrested_?" DiNozzo asked. Gibbs nodded, not elaborating because he was not sure of the exact details of that.

"How did you find out that Read was hired as a hitman?" DiNozzo asked curiously trying to calm himself down through distraction.

"McGee and Ziva said that Chip had confessed to Fornell." Gibbs stated.

"Chip?" DiNozzo said in surprise. "Was actually in on the plot to kill Raimey? Here we thought they might have been working together."

"Yeah." Gibbs said quickly. "So Raimey is gone. How do you feel about that?"

"Shocked." DiNozzo said shaking his head with his eyes wide open. Then DiNozzo looked down and away from Gibbs, making him completely unreadable.

"What. . .did the two of you discuss last year, when you were in the interrogation room together?" Gibbs asked.

"Uh, oh yeah, I don't know. He was really mad and came up with about every verbal attack on me that he could come up with." DiNozzo admitted. The truthfulness surprised Gibbs.

"You didn't believe anything he said right? They were unfounded personal attacks." Gibbs asked.

"No." DiNozzo shook his head as he answered the strange question, starting to look at Gibbs suspiciously.

"Boss?" DiNozzo asked.

"You were listening in on that conversation then, weren't you?" DiNozzo asked still giving Gibbs a suspicious look, as he became increasingly more embarrassed. Gibbs chose not answer rather than lie to him, which caused DiNozzo to assume that he was listening in anyway. "That is why in the elevator. . ." DiNozzo stopped and froze.

"Tony, your self-confidence and even your self-esteem has really been hurting. This all started when Price died last year, and you had that talk with Raimey." Gibbs offered. DiNozzo shook his head, dismissing Gibbs' words.

"I am fine Boss." DiNozzo repeated the line once again. He could not contain how unsettled he was about Raimey's death though.

"It is very noticeable and it is effecting your decisions in the field. You are not fine." Gibbs said, looking him over.

"What are we going to do about this Boss? We just keep shooting the same lines back and forth at each other?" DiNozzo tried to say humorously, but Gibbs' glare seemed to burn through him again.

"Maybe we should go talk to Ducky. He seems to get you to talk, when I can't." DiNozzo swallowed hard at Gibbs' comment.

"You have me really worried. Do you know that?" Gibbs asked trying to read DiNozzo.

"Why?" DiNozzo asked a bit flustered and frustrated.

"Why? Do I really need to answer that?" Gibbs said. Gibbs blocked DiNozzo from trying to get up again.

"I am sorry Boss." DiNozzo responded. Gibbs shook his head in irritation. "I cannot believe that Chip confessed." DiNozzo added. "So he was the one who stole that evidence, but he just tried to pin it on Raimey?" Gibbs did not answer, but he did agree with the comment. He was giving a disapproving look at DiNozzo for changing the subject yet again.

"Raimey." Gibbs tried again. DiNozzo looked at Gibbs curiously. "You did ignore what he said to you." DiNozzo tried to shake off Gibbs' concerns.

"Tony?" Gibbs prompted again.

"Well, he did say a lot of true things even though they were personal shots at yours truly. He said I was both blind and in denial about Danny. By not turning him in, he felt that I should be considered an accomplice. My bad investigative skills were the cause of my not realizing Danny was dirty and not making the connection to Raimey himself either. After all, it was Danny who discovered that and not me."

"Tony" Gibbs said softly. "Please tell me you didn't believe any of that. He was mad that he was caught, and you were the one who caught him. That was your collar. He would say or do anything at that point."

"Yeah, I know." DiNozzo said quickly looking down away from Gibbs.

"Hey." Gibbs shouted out, reach back behind Tony had to give him a firm head slap. "Are you hearing me?"

"Yes Boss." DiNozzo said rather solemnly rubbing the back of his head.

"Watch it DiNozzo, you are asking for harder one." Gibbs said, after allowing a long silence in which DiNozzo looked so lost in his own thoughts.

"He _was_ right about some things." DiNozzo said, feeling the sting of a second head slap impacting the back of his head.

"Raimey was arrested and then now he was shot dead. Why are you listening to his opinion on anything?"

"Can I watch a news report on the shooting, Boss?" DiNozzo asked.

**Squad Room**

"Good Morning Gibbs. How did Tony seem last night?" Ziva asked as she watched Gibbs come off of the elevator.

"He seems okay." Gibbs said sitting down at his desk. "He needs to clear his head though."

"Did Tony know about the shooting already when you got there?" McGee asked in concern.

"No, luckily I was the one who first told him." Gibbs admitted. "Then he started watching the news and fell asleep, so I just left his place."

"Wendy keeps calling here for Tony." McGee informed him. "She called three times in the last hour. Tony couldn't believe all of the messages, when he first came in."

"Wait. . .Tony?" Gibbs looked at him in surprise. "Was DiNozzo here earlier?

"Yes, he is here . . ._somewhere_. I haven't seen him in a while. He wasn't feeling well." McGee offered looking around the room for him. Gibbs got up and left the squad room. "He might have gone down to see Ducky, Boss."

**Bathroom **

Gibbs turned the corner and entered the men's bathroom to dump out the rest of his coffee. As he stepped over to the sink, he could hear someone vomiting in one of the stalls. Gibbs washed his hands, than he stepped over closer to where the noise was coming from.

"Tony?" Gibbs said. "Is that you?"

"Uh, oh yeah it is me, Boss." DiNozzo said with a laugh before he flushed and opened the door. He quickly passed up Gibbs to get over to the sinks.

"Are you doing okay DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked in concern. Gibbs approached DiNozzo who was splashing water on his face and gargling water. He placed his arm on DiNozzo's back. He could feel DiNozzo's body trembling beneath his hand. "I am surprised you even came in today. You are even here early.

"Hey." Gibbs said looking him over. "You should have stayed home."

After hearing Gibbs' words, DiNozzo stood up and turned around to face Gibbs.

"Did you finish that bottle of wine, when I left?" Gibbs asked, looking him over.

"No." DiNozzo said firmly enough for Gibbs to believe him.

"I want Ducky to check you out, then." Gibbs said, grabbing a hold of his arm and directing him toward the door. Before DiNozzo had the opportunity to object, Ducky was standing right outside the bathroom when they came out.

"Morning Duck."

"Jethro! Good Morning. Hey Ziva and McGee, I found both of them!" Ducky yelled out.

"Is there a chance that you could examine this agent here?" Gibbs asked as he continued to hold onto one of DiNozzo's arms.

"Of course, is there anything specific that I should be examining?" Ducky asked Gibbs.

"Yeah, why does he keep throwing up? Is it from consuming too much _alcohol_ or from anxiety? Gibbs asked.

"Boss, I am not." DiNozzo said defensively, as he was pulled into the elevator with Ducky.

"It is all right Tony. This will only take moment." Ducky tried to reassure him that they were on his side, but at the same time recognizing Gibbs' concern.

"When was the first time that you threw up?" Ducky asked turning his body to look over Tony.

"Uh, it was last night. It was right after Gibbs had told me that Raimey was murdered by Danny Price's father. I did not expect that." DiNozzo stated.

"I see. How much alcohol did you consume?" Ducky asked.

"I don't know. . .maybe 12 ounces." DiNozzo stated. Gibbs examined him trying to determine if that was a truthful statement.

**Autopsy**

"Well, let's go see what the problem is Tony." Ducky said encouraging DiNozzo to step off when the elevator doors opened. Gibbs followed but hung back by the entrance, waiting patiently as Ducky examined him.

"Your temperature is normal and your blood pressure is normal. Nothing else seems to be wrong with you. Your eyes are a little blood shot, and I don't remember you ever having those dark, very dark, lines underneath your eyes before. So, here are the questions I normally ask you Anthony." Ducky stated. Ducky's last comment caught Gibbs off guard. He looked over trying to anticipate what that might be.

"Have you been getting a good night's sleep?" He asked.

"No, I haven't, but not from lack of trying." DiNozzo admitted, looking over at Gibbs waiting for his lecture or a look of disapproval. Gibbs came closer to them, still wondering where Ducky was going with this.

"My other question is usually in regards to what you have eaten." Ducky stated. Gibbs then nodded in understanding.

"I had a half of a large pizza around 6 last night." DiNozzo said.

"Well, that part is not surprising. What did you have this morning?" Ducky asked.

"Nothing." DiNozzo admitted. "Coffee."

"Filled with sugar, I am guessing." Ducky stated. "Nothing else then?" DiNozzo shook his head.

"Besides pizza, what did you eat yesterday?" Ducky asked.

"I skipped breakfast. Then we had the case, so . . .I didn't stop for lunch." DiNozzo explained. "Nothing. I don't think I ate anything."

"Nothing?" Ducky and Gibbs said in unison.

"What the h*ll is wrong with you?" Gibbs shouted. Ducky and Gibbs shot each other with an unsurprised but disgusted glance.

"I guess I forgot." DiNozzo admitted becoming agitated by how angry Gibbs was and from the attention he was getting. "I wasn't hungry until I got home. I am not hungry now either."

"You still need to eat. But, you are always hungry." Gibbs said with noticeable concern. "Why wouldn't you be hungry?"

"Was Wendy here again?" Ducky asked. "Ziva and McGee said you didn't eat when she was here last month."

"Tony? Was that the reason?" Gibbs asked, closing up the space between them. He now was in head slapping range, which caused DiNozzo to tense up in anticipation of being lectured.

"You didn't eat because of Wendy? You have to be upset about the trial and Raimey's murder too." Gibbs stated waiting for reactions. "Maybe you should have stayed home today."

"Is seeing Wendy upsetting you that much?" Gibbs asked, looking him over. DiNozzo did not answer; instead, he looked down and away. Gibbs still caught the ashamed look.

"All right, you are no longer her liaison, then?" Gibbs said.

"No, Boss I would prefer that it would be me over Ziva or McGee. . ."

"We will stick with our policy that we do not liaise with the press." Gibbs informed him. This comment caused Ducky to look at Gibbs critically.

"You go eat something. I would prefer that you go home all together." Gibbs ordered DiNozzo.

"Yes Boss." DiNozzo tried to slowly back away from the two men who were both standing within inches of him at the autopsy table. They both watched as he tried to escape their critical eyes.

"I highly recommend some oatmeal Tony." Ducky said.

"Oatmeal? I don't eat. . ." DiNozzo said, catching the strong disapproving reactions from both of the men. . ". . .I'll try some oatmeal. Thank you Ducky."

"I'll be keeping my eye on _you_, Anthony." Ducky yelled out. When they heard, the elevator, they turned to talk. "That helped Jethro by freeing him of his ex-fiancé. And, now that Chip is going back to prison and the trial with Raimey is. . .well, over." Gibbs shook his head in agreement of Ducky's analysis. He then turned to find the camera in autopsy.

"Do you hear that Leon? The good doctor says he will be fine. You can stop spying on us now." Gibbs yelled out to the camera. Ducky looked to him as if he had gone mad. "Thank you for your time Ducky. I appreciate what you did there for Tony."

"Hopefully, this will be closure for him from Wendy and from Raimey." Ducky said with Gibbs agreement. Gibbs smiled at him and headed toward the elevator.

~The End

Thank you so much for reading. Thank you so much for posting such great feedback!

_I do think this will be my last fan-fiction centering on season 9 plot bunnies. Although there is just so much to play with this season with such great character focused storylines, I think many will be resolved on screen as the season finale approaches. However, the "kid from Baltimore" Tony storyline is included somewhere in the last three to five episodes so there might be one standalone fanfiction still coming on that._


End file.
